Meet the women who preserved the culture of the Yorkshire Dales for generations to come

Marie Hartley, Ella Pontefract and, later, Joan Ingilby worked together for more than 75 years, lived together in a cottage in Askrigg, and were experts on the social history of the Dales.

They are the latest figures to be celebrated in the Great North Yorkshire Sons and Daughters campaign, which is being ran by North Yorkshire County Council and draws on County Record Office archives and the work of local history groups.

Ms Hartley, who was awarded an MBE, was born in 1905 and was the author and co-author of 40 books on Dales life. During the 1930s and 1940s she set up in partnership with a local writer, Ella Pontefract, illustrating books on the Dales and Yorkshire. Together they developed a rigorous transcription method for recording Yorkshire dialect, and vocabulary, including the subtle distinctions between adjacent valleys. They showed great enthusiasm and interest in the skills, crafts and ways the Dales made its living.

The two women published six books on Yorkshire life and customs before Pontefract died in 1945. Afterwards, Ms Hartley was joined by Ms Ingilby.

Much of the collection they curated can be found at the Dales Countryside Museum, which they founded.

The trio focused on the aspects of Dales heritage that had been less well documented or that were never documented at all. Lots of traditions would generally be passed down orally from generation to generation but never noted.

A quote from their book The Yorkshire Dales reads: “Any recording now of the old life as it slips away, is only just in the nick of time”.

They knew there was a sense of urgency in documenting fading traditions, even iconic things such as the old dry stone walls, which weren’t always kept up as farming changed and there was less reliance on traditional methods

Their collection of cultural heritage artefacts is now housed at the Dales Countryside Museum.

Museum manager, Fiona Rosher said: “Marie Hartley, Ella Pontefract and Joan Ingilby were pioneers in the recording of the people, places and cultural heritage of Yorkshire and the Dales in particular.

“Their combined skills of photographer, writer and artist created a unique impression of personal, domestic and working life in the Dales.

“The action they took to prevent objects leaving the region showed great foresight and they are an inspiration to all who work to preserve and interpret the cultural heritage of the Yorkshire Dales and beyond,”

North Yorkshire County Council, leader Coun Carl Les, said: “These three women were pioneers in the preservation of rural life in Yorkshire, and in particular the Dales. The cultural heritage of North Yorkshire, its traditions, dialect, and general way of life is a huge part of what makes the county’s places and people what they are today.

“Without the work of Hartley, Pontefract and Ingilby documenting what it means to be from North Yorkshire across generations, it is very possible much of the social history of the Dales could have been lost and forgotten.

“This is why we seek to find such influential figures across the county. We must showcase their hard work and determination and bring to light the difference they have made in North Yorkshire.”